Adventures of the HGC
by flamewarp
Summary: The HGC (Heliotrope Gem Cadre) are a bunch of gems on Earth, outcasts from homeworld. Expect angst, cuddles, and lots of maternal feelings down the road. Warning: Lots of lerrngunge. Not for now, but later... Based on a series of (ongoing) RPs I'm having with a couple friends
1. Episode 1

EPISODE 1: Humble Beginnings. The Star-Crossed encounter

' _Ah can't believe how much of a moron Ah am...'_

A golden gem held her head from behind a rock. They'd seen her. She knew they had. And it was all her fault. Peek out, why don't you? It'll be _fine_.

"Larimar, I think I saw something." a slightly nasally voice said.

"Is it a hooman?" a slightly child-like one replied. Amber shuddered. She knew who that was. Even if she was trying to sound innocent. _Sick._

"I don't think so..."

"Okay." Amber said, breathing heavily. "On the count of three, run."

She heard footsteps on the desert sands, approaching. "Ah, hell, forget it." Amber scrambled out from behind the rock, her long ponytail occasionally whacking her in the middle of her back. She was beginning to wonder why she hadn't regenned that out yet.

"H-hey!" The nasally voice called out from behind her.

"Aaah, you would!" Amber yelled back, with a thick southern accent. She turned her head back forward, as she heard the green one's footsteps following after her. Eventually, she heard another set of footsteps. A fusion's. Larimar's. Amber panicked, before turning her head back. "A-ah wasn't spyin' on you, I swear! Ah just came by yer ship!"

The nasally voice sounded exasperated. "W-wait, I don't even know who you are!" Amber faltered a bit, before continuing her sprint. "Yeah, and neither do Ah!" "Then why are you running? I just wanna talk!"

Amber stopped in her tracks. It's...it's fine. If Larimar wanted her dead, she would be. And she could take her. Probably. So, might as well talk. "Alright. Fine. Ya know what, talkin' sounds good." Amber said, turning around. The green one stopped running, walking up to Amber. She was wearing some weird sort of black bodysuit, with what could only be described as rainbow veins running across it. Amber didn't get it, but she was clearly homeworld, or at least ex-homeworld, and she never got their fashion in the first place.

Amber saw Larimar walking up, and tried to hold back terror. "Spyin'?" Larimar asked, looking genuinely confused. Speaking of confusing, her outfit. Some weird cover-up top, and some sleeveless leotard? Really, homeworld? Amber shook her head. Shirt. Jeans. Not looking like a moron. That was far better for everyone, and yet she was the only one that noticed, apparently.

* * *

Larimar walked up to the weird, golden gem. "Spyin'?" She asked, confused. The golden gem shook her head. "Yeah. Ya know. Lookin' atcha fer some ulterior motice. W-which Ah wasn't doin'! Unless curiosity at the random gem ship in the middle of the friggin' desert counts as an ulterior motive."

Heliotrope looked at the golden gem, slightly confused. "I crashed here." She said, matter-of-factly. The golden gem buried her hands in her face. "Smooth, Amber..." Amber. That was her name. Larimar supposed that perhaps should have been obvious. Heliotrope realized how she sounded, before stammering slightly. "If you wanted to know that, then that's fine. I basically live out here." Larimar nodded. "I woke up among ship debris, too." She said, raising a hand.

"Oh, guess that'd explain it, huh?" Amber said, chuckling awkwardly. Larimar wasn't sure to which explanation she was responding. Amber made some weird sort of scratchy sound with her mouth. "Ah, so, mah name's Amber," She said, extending a hand towards Heliotrope. Heliotrope smiled, shaking her hand gently. "Heliotrope. It's nice to meet you, Amber."

Amber sighed in relief. "Ain't everyone out here to getcha." she turned her head towards Larimar. "Anyway, whaddaya mean you 'woke up' here?" She asked, seeming slightly awkard. "Yeah," Larimar said, looking cheerful. "I woke up." "Juss', like...one day? Ya go ta sleep somewhere and then poof? Yer here?"

Larimar shrugged. "I guess?" Amber shrugged. "Fair 'nuff, ah guess. Not all that much weirder than mah situation." She still sounded somewhat like she was hiding something, but Larimar didn't worry about it. "I...can't remember much before I woke up." Larimar said, somewhat sadly. Amber walked over to Larimar and put a hand on her shoulder. "Honestly, Ah know tha feelin'. Or at least got an idea."

Larimar sighed, before cheering up slightly. "I felt lost before I met Heliotrope." She could see Heli smile, walking over and hugging Larimar. Amber took her hand off Larimar's shoulder, looking somewhat uncomfortable. "So, you're a gem?" Larimar said, sounding curious. Amber looked confused. "Yeah. You ain't?" Larimar shrugged. "According to Heliotrope, I am." Amber blinked. "Girl, yer a fusion." Heliotrope sighed. "Welp, that cat's out of the bag."

Amber looked at Heliotrope. "What, you been hiding it from her?" Heliotrope shrugged. "I was waiting for the right time to bring it up." Meanwhile, Larimar was putting some pieces together. She may have amnesia, but she knew what words meant. So if she was a fusion, she had to have components, right? "I don't know who my components are..." She said, looking at Amber and Heliotrope's reactions. Heli hugged tighter, while Amber moved her hand toward a gold-ish, opaque gem on her left hip. She muttered something Lari couldn't quite hear. Heliotrope hrmed, before looking at Amber.

Amber made that odd, scratchy noise again. "A-anyways, either 'a you two knew where the ship is?" "The home-ship?" Larimar asked, tilting her head. Amber looked at her, slightly confused. "If that's whatcha call it." Heliotrope let go of Larimar, turned towards Amber. "I can lead the way." She said, happily, turning around and Leading Larimar by the hand back towards the ship. Larimar herself, however, was lost in thought. Confusion, worry, curiosity, and a tiny bit of sadness ran through her, as she tried to remember anything about her past. Eventually, she was snapped out by the sound of Amber's odd voice. "So, uhm...you guys didn't hear that, didja?" Heliotrope frowned, as she turned back towards Amber. "Hear what?" "N-nothing." Amber said, turning her head and blushing a deep orange. "If you didn't hear it, it don't matter."

Heliotrope turned back, still kinda confused about what was going on with Amber. "Shoulda just not said nothin', Amber..." She muttered.

Eventually, the group reached a crashed gem ship, where Larimar and Heliotrope stopped. Heliotrope opened a door, which Amber walked into. Larimar walked in after her, and Heliotrope came in last. Larimar noticed Amber beginning to hold her forehead.

"Is something wrong, Amber?" Heliotrope asked, from behind Larimar. Amber looked back at Heliotrope, worried. "O-oh, yeah, Ah'm fine." Heliotrope hrmed. "Maybe you should sit down." Larimar did first, flopping down into a beanbag. "Yeah..." Amber said, glancing around for somewhere to sit. "Maybe ah should." after a second, she pulled some sort of weird weapon out of her gem. Larimar's eyes widened. "WOOOOAH!" She said, rising up slightly. "That was _cool_! How did you do that!?" Amber looked at her. "What? You can't?" Larimar blinked. "Maybe?"

Meanwhile, Heliotrope was pulling a beanbag out of a makeshift bed Larimar had made, putting one next to Amber. Amber nodded, sitting in it. "Thanks." Heliotrope nodded, sitting in another beanbag across from her. Amber turned back to Larimar. "Anyway, 'ss just my weapon. You oughta have one too." Larimar hrmed. "I wonder if I do. And what it is?"

Amber shrugged. "It's prob'ly pretty cool, what with bein' a fusion and all." "How do you do it?" Larimar asked, stars in her eyes. Amber shrugged. "Iunno, Ah just...want it. And it's there." "Ooh, ohh!" Larimar said, clapping her hands. "What if it's a hooman, or a rock, or one of those guns-" Wait, how did she even know what they were called? She didn't worry about that for too long. "OR AN ALLIGATOR!" Amber chuckled. "Don't think it's nothin' livin'. And a rock would be pretty dang redundant." After a while, Amber's eyes widened slightly. "Wait, 'hoo man?'" She said, laughing. "Hooman." Larimar said, furrowing her brow. "The small things." Amber shook her head. "HYOO-man. There's a 'yuh' in there." Larimar turned to Heliotrope, who looked confused. "Hyuhman?"

Amber shook her head. "No, HYOO-ah,whatever, it ain't 'at important." Heliotrope shrugged. "Hoo man!~" Larimar said, giggling. Amber sighed. "You got somethin' to shoot at? All this talkin' is getting' me kinda antsy." Heliotrope thought. "There's a lot of rocks around here. Or cacti." She said, shrugging. Amber snickered. "World could do with a couple less'a those stupid things." She sighed. "Ya know what? Nah. Ah think Ah feel much better juss' sittin' here. Action's fer people who ain't tired." Amber reclined in her beanbag, closing her eyes.

* * *

Amber reclined in her beanbag, closing her eyes. "Prolly gonna get plenty 'a that later, anyways." She knew Larimar had to drop the act at some point. She was doing pretty good for now, but...someone like that didn't change. It would slip. "Oooooooh~" Amber heard Larimar say."SEE!" Larimar yelled. "I DID IT!"

"NEH!" Amber bolted up, seeing Larimar clutching some sort of crossbow. "Amber!" Larimar said, excitedly. "Look! Look!" Larimar showed off her weapon, looking far more excited than Amber expected her to be. "Uh...cool. 'At looks neat." Amber wiped at her eyes. "Kinda wish you didn't find out about it while Ah was tryin' ta sleep, but..." Larimar tilted her head. "You do the sleep thing too?" She asked, inspecting her weapon. Amber shrugged. "Sometimes. If'n Ah feel like it."

"Oooh, what if I press this thingie?" Amber instinctively ducked. She could only think of one 'thingie' she would press, and she'd rather not be in the line of fire when she did. As expected, a crossbow bolt jutted out of the wall, not too far from her. "Aaaand that's a hole in my wall." Heliotrope said, slightly annoyed. Amber looked at Larimar, incredibly mad. Was she just trying to set her off? Play the innocent? "Ah coulda toldja that without you shootin' the damn thing!" Amber yelled.

"Sorry!" Larimar said, looking genuinely guilty. "Hey, it's okay." Heliotrope said gently. Amber sighed, reclining back and holding her forehead. "Man, it's weird tryin' to talk with a gem who don't even know how gems work. Er, not that it's yer fault or nothin'" Amber said, quickly. "Ah prolly didn't know how they worked at first either." Amber seized up, looking at how Larimar and Heliotrope would react. Thankfully, they just came closer, hugging each other. Amber turned away forlornly, blushing. "Do you want a hug too, Amber?" Larimar said. Amber froze up slightly. "No. It...it'd probably make things worse." She sighed, holding her head. Holy shit, was she getting a headache? Did gems get headaches? Amber hrmed. "Hey, have either of you seen any other gems on Earth?" "I have." Heliotrope piped up, raising a hand. Amber looked at her. "None of 'em happened to have a circular gem in'er chest, did she? " Amber motioned slightly below her neck area. "May or may not've had spikes juttin' out of it, dependin' on her mood?" Heliotrope looked confused. "Whaddya mean?" Amber shook her head. "You'd know what Ah meant if'n ya'd seen 'er. She's mah...mom. Kinda. Closest thing a gem can have to one, anyways." Heliotrope looked confused, but reclined back into her beanbag. "Look, it's a long story." Amber said, upset. "But basically, she's raised me since Ah was first created. She got ran out because she was 'involved with the rebellion' or some shit. Ah came to get her. Kinda hope Ah can find her at some point." Heliotrope sighed. "Fair enough, I suppose. But...let's just relax now."

"Sounds great to me." Amber said, sounding somewhat bitter. She reclined in her beanbag and turned over onto her chest. "C'mon, Larimar, let's cuddle." She heard Heliotrope say cheerily. Amber made an almost inadubile sigh. _'Juss' don't think about it. Don't think about it and it can't getcha sad.'_

She heard Heliotrope whisper something. "Amber?" She eventually said. "Would you like to come over here with us?" Amber turned her head up slightly, just as shocked as the last time the idea was brought up. "Yeah...yeah." Amber got up and layed down between Heliotrope and Larimar, tapping her gem. Heliotrope brought her into the little hug party, and Amber sighed, closing her eyes and falling asleep.


	2. Episode 2

An unknown face. An unfriendly visitor from the Homeworld!

Amber sighed, opening her eyes. Apparently at some point overnight, she had managed to slip out of that weird little cuddle sandwich. She was hardly upset about that. It was far less comforting than she had hoped it would be. She yawned, sitting up, and seeing that green one sitting in front of a window-Heliotrope. That was her name. Amber blinked. "The crap are you doing?" Heliotrope turned back toward Amber. "Oh, uh, I can absorb energy into my gem," Heliotrope motioned around the area where the human hearts were. Wait, was her gem _INSIDE_ of her? That's...a new one. "It doesn't take much, so I sunbathe sometimes. It helps. It also helped me during a...bad time."

Amber raised an eyebrow. "Bad time how?" Heliotrope turned back towards the window. "Corruption." Amber made a noise of sympathy. She looked around. "So, uh, where did Larimar go?" Heliotrope shrugged. "She does this, sometimes. Goes out to look for 'shiny' things. 'Shiny', in this case, being a synonym of 'interesting'."

Amber sighed. "Alrighty then." She stood up and sat back down in the beanbag behind her. After a while of silence, Larimar knocked on the door and walked in. "Back!~" She said cheerily, a sack slung over her shoulder. Heliotrope turned around, looking refreshed. "Hi, Lari." She said, smiling. "So, what have you got today?" Larimar plopped the sack down and starting scrummaging around in it. Eventually, she started pulling out random items. An empty water bottle, a blanket, a plush cat, and a cow skull.

Amber sighed and reclined in her beanbag, taking her revolver out. "Ya know, Ah wonder why they call these things 'revolvers'. Ah haven't seen it revolve." She spun it by the trigger. "Maybe 'cause it makes ya look badass when you spin it." She said, smiling. After a bit more fiddling, she was interrupted by a skeletal bovine being thrust in her face. "Wheee, I'm a shiny horn thing!" Larimar said, smiling wide. Amber jumped, shifting back slightly further back into her beanbag. "It's called a cow, hun." Amber said, gently pushing down on the skull. Larimar popped it back up. "Wheee, I'm a shiny cow!~"

Amber shook her head. She was starting to think that Larimar genuinely had changed. Somehow. She began thinking. "Hey, Lari, you feel like learning how to shoot that weapon you got?" Larimar tilted her head. "Sure." Amber smiled, popping up out of her beanbag. "Good, because Ah'm bored, and that'll make me un-bored." Larimar smiled. "Okay!" She walked out of the ship, Amber following behind.

* * *

Peridot grumbled, staring at her screen. "Stupid...clods...and now I'm stranded in the middle of a desert." She looked up to see..."A gem ship!" She said, closing her screen and running towards it excitedly. "NICE TO FINALLY SEE SOME EVAC!" She yelled, loud enough for anybody in there to here. No response. Peridot kept approaching, seeing that the ship was out of commission. "Oh. Crashed." She smiled sinisterly. "But I can fix that."

"Who's there?" She heard a slightly nasally voice (kinda reminiscent of her own, thinking on it) call out from the ship. Apparently there was somebody inside. Interesting. "A...gem." She eventually decided to say. Peridot squinted as she saw another gem exit the ship. She walked closer, eventually starting to recognize her. "Hey, aren't you the test pilot for the ship we sent out?" Heliotrope. That was her name. She nodded, suspicious. "Yeah. I am."

Peridot thought. She seemed to be staying here for an extended period of time. Maybe..."Could I perhaps take a look at that ship?" Heliotrope hrmed. "Well, I could let you see it...that is to say, I ' _could_ '." She turned away from Peridot, occasionally glancing back. Peridot blinked. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Well, it's kinda my home here, so it lifting off back to homeworld would not be very good for me. Especially with the friends I made here." Peridot screamed internally, but tried to remain calm on the outside. "Well, but if you're intending on leaving it here, surely there's some parts to it you don't need anymore I could...borrow. Or buy. Or whatever." Heliotrope hrmed again. "I don't know..." She said, in a tone that made it clear she was trying to mess with Peridot. "This is relatively old tech. I have been away from homeworld for a while, after all. So for all I know, this is all outdated." She shrugged.

Peridot continued to do her best to conceal her frustration, starting to fail a bit. "I don't need _new_ tech, I need tech that works. That's all." After a second, Heliotrope turned back to her. "I suppose I have no reason not to let you browse." She said, motioning for Peridot to follow her into her ship. Peridot did so, sighing in relief.

Peridot walked up to the ship, the relic of past gem advancements sitting the dirt. It's exterior was mostly worn away by the elements, leaving it rather dirty and dull on the outside. Peridot chuckled and sighed, running one floating hand across it's surface. "This used to be cutting edge..." She muttered.

Heliotrope opened the door, showing the insides. In contrast, they were pristine, looking essentially untouched since the day it was launched. It was slightly rearranged, however, being rather open and having a few odd relics scattered about-probably something from Earth.

One set of relics caught Peridot's attention the most. Some odd, baggy things, strewn all around the area. She walked over and pushed it, before trying to sit in it. She jumped upon feeling it sag. "Is this some sort of...earthling torture device?" Heliotrope blinked at her. "nnooo, it's something you sit on. It's very comfortable." As if to demonstrate, Heliotrope sat down in one. ' _must be some way to turn them off..._ ' Peridot thought, avoiding these obvious traps. "Anyway," heliotrope said, waving a hand dismissively. "Feel free to look around a bit, if you want." Peridot nodded and started searching around for useful materials.

There wasn't a whole lot. Most of it was broken, or far too old for her to operate. Eventually, she settled on trying for a few lightbulbs, and some systems for deep-space that the pilot wouldn't miss, if she was planning on staying on Earth for some asinine reason like she said she was. Peridot started unscrewing a lightbulb. "Soooo..." She said, somewhat suspicious of Heliotrope. "Seen any other gems here?"

"Why do you ask?" Heliotrope asked in a frank, serious tone. "Just making conversation." Peridot said, well aware that Heliotrope wouldn't buy it. She heard Heliotrope grumble a bit, but otherwise she didn't respond. Peridot didn't pursue the mattter. The test pilot was clearly hiding something, but if she pried too much...well, the pilot would likely return in kind. After a while of silence, she spoke up again. "So, how long have you been here? This is a question I'm willing to answer, too."

"Well, based on my knowledge of how they measure time here...just shy under 70 Earth years." Peridot nodded. "That's about 69 years and 358 days longer than me."

Pause.

"So, given you know me, and are interested in my ship, I can presume you are a scinetist of some kind?" Peridot shrugged. "Scientist. IT adviser. Kindergarten worker. General knowledge gem, yes." Peridot managed to unscrew the bulb she was working on, and moved over to another one. She turned back towards Heliotrope. "Were you leading into anything with that?" Heliotrope shrugged. "No, like you said, just making conversation."

Despite that, Peridot and Heliotrope sat in silence, until Peridot eventually came out with a net gain of a couple lightbulbs. Fun. "Well, I do believe that's about all I can salvage from this." She said, turning around. Heliotrope raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, I guess that makes sense, I haven't really repaired much." Peridot slowly walked out of the ship, not breaking eye contact with Heliotrope. The pilot didn't seem particularly interested in doing so either.

Peridot walked out, before seeing another gem approaching.

Larimar!?

Peridot dropped her lightbulbs, before running off and opening her screen.

Peridot finally stopped running when she was confident she wasn't followed. She turned around, trying to find any signs of anybody doing so, thankfully coming up empty. She sighed in relief, before turning her attention to her open screen.

"Log number 502." She said, talking along with her typing. "I came across one of those test pilots we sent out in the middle of some random desert. She seems to have turned her ship inot some sort of...domicile. I managed to outsmart her and convince her to let me take some parts, though only after much suspicion on both sides."

Pause.

"I also found that tool, Larimar, but she didn't seem to recognize. At the time I ran away, for what I would hope would be rather obvious reasons, but I'll have to talk to her on the off-chance I run into her again."

Peridot sighed and closed her screen. At least something came out of this.

* * *

Amber lay back in her beanbag, continuing to fiddle with her revolver, while Larimar snuggled with the now clean cat plushy. "Errth things are so soft~" She said happily, while Heliotrope watched on, smiling wide. Amber nodded, holding her head. That damn headache again. What was with that stupid thing? "'Ss a nice place, fer the most part." Dammit, it was getting _worse_. Her other hand clutched her head, and she scrunched up. "Amb...r? Wh...ong?"

Out like a light.

"DiaNe? ARE YoU sUrE This is A GoOD Idea?"

Amber jolted up, taking a deep breath, seeing both Heliotrope and Larimar hovering over her. She blinked. ""H-hi?" the other two gems looked at her, concerned. "What...was that?" Larimar asked, stepping away. Heliotrope did the same. Amber stammered a bit, trying her best to think of some farfetched cover story, before eventually sighing. "No point in hiding it anymore..." She said, shaking her head.

She scrunched herself up in her beanbag. "Ah got...memories. Fuzzy ones. Of humans. Except...I think...I am one. They used to be stronger. Probably remembered some names at some point. But I still got 'em. And then...well, I just found out that I used to be named 'Diane'." Heliotrope blinked, surprised, and probably unsure of how exactly to respond. And Larimar...well, she was a bit hard to read. She sat down, expression blank. In fact...weirdly blank. She looked like she was staring off into space, mouth hanging slightly open. "She do that a lot?" Amber asked Heliotrope, kinda confused as to what was going on. Her head gem started glowing, surprising the both of them. "She do _that_ a lot!?" Amber asked, getting up and walking over.

Amber waved a hand in front of Lari's face. "Earth to Larimar?" "Errth..." Larimar muttered, distantly. Amber blinked, stepping back. "Errth...Errth..." Larimar continued muttering, not reacting. "Yeah?" Amber said, raising an eyebrow. "What about it?" "Gem...Gem...

Rebellion..."

"REBELLE-WHAT NOW!?" Amber yelled, her hand hovering around her gem. _'I AM NOT GETTING GODDAMN SUDDEN AMBUSHED ABOUT THIS!"_ "Rebellion..." Larimar continued muttering, not reacting to Amber's outburst. "What about the rebellion?" Amber growled. Larimar's head gem stopped glowing, as she blinked, bewildered. "Huh? What happened?"

Amber squinted. "You started repeating random words at us." She moved her hands away from her gem and folded her arms. Heliotrope sighed. "You started muttering about some kinda gem rebellion here...not that I'm opposed to them rebelling against what I think they're rebelling against." Amber breathed out slowly through her nose. Larimar continued looking at Heliotrope, confused. "Huh?"

Heliotrope shook her head. "Another long story." Amber smirked. "Full of 'em, ain't we?" she chuckled. Larimar looked at them weirdly, obviously not sure about what the crap they were talking about. Amber sighed, sitting down into her beanbag. "Weird..."

After a while of not talking, Larimar stood up. "I think I'm gonna go out and look for more shinies." Amber shrugged. "Ah'll come, too. Ain't doin' nothin' else." Larimar smiled, holding a hand out to help Amber out of her chair. Amber looked at her, slightly annoyed, getting up fine on her own. "See ya later, Heli." She said, waving a hand at her. Heliotrope smiled and waved back, while Larimar opened the door and stepped out.

* * *

Peridot watched from behind a rock at Larimar, while she was out searching for...something. "Psssst!" Peridot said, leaning out from behind the rock and motioning for Larimar to come behind it with her. Larimar turned her head, before eventually walking over and sitting behind the rock with Peridot. "Larimar, give me a status report."

Larimar blinked. "Status report?" "Yes, on the mission, you clod." Larimar continued to look confused. "Mission?" "The thing we _sent you here for!?_ I thought you were smarter than this." Larimar shook her head. "I have never met you before, but nice to meet you Peridot." She tilted her head. "How do you know my name." Peridot squinted in disbelief. "You...you're not joking, are you? I don't remember you being the kind to make jokes." Larimar blinked. "Do...you not remember your mission? How can you not remember that?" Larimar made a small sound of frustration. "What mission?" "YOUR MISSION TO CO-" Peridot was cut off by the feeling of something cold touching her back. "G'mornin', bitch." a voice said from behind her. "Ah don't know if'n yer sendin' any 'a them logs to Yellow Diamond, but you are...Tell 'er Amber says 'hi' from sunny screw-youtopia.

Move, Lari." Larimar did as she was told, and Peridot felt a pure bolt of energy rush through her chest.

* * *

Larimar caught the poofed Peridot. "W-what did you do!?" She asked, aghast. "Ah poofed her." Amber said simply, picking up some limbs from the ground. She dumped them in Larimar's hands. "Here, ya wanted shinies, take some damn shinies." Larimar did so, looking contemplative. What was she about to say? Had she mistaken her for someone else? Did she know her from her past? She heard Amber say something about modifying gems, or something, but she didn't pay much attention. "She...knew me?" Larimar muttered. Amber clicked her tongue. "Even if she did, Ah wouldn't believe a word she said. These homeworld types got tongues 'a silver and hearts 'a coal."

Larimar looked at Amber, bewildered. Amber sighed. "Homeworld sent a gem to us. Ah don't know if it was fer me, or you, or Heli, or whoever, but they did it." Larimar shook her head. "She knew me." Amber shook her head. "C'mon, Lari, Ah toldja not to trust them." She said, somewhat sympathetically. Larimar continued to stare, before starting to shake. "Lari? You doin' alright, girl?" "I-I'm scared." She said, crying a bit. Amber sighed. "If'n homeworld is sending troops, ya oughta be...But...Ah wouldn't worry about it fer now. They usually only send Peridots fer scouts at worst. And scouts ain't much good dead." Amber smiled.

Larimar looked at Amber, confused. She sighed. "Hoped Ah'd go at 'least a year before seeing any 'a these guys..." Amber muttered. Larimar didn't pay much mind to it. "If she knew me...then there are other gems that know me?" She felt Amber put a hand on her shoulder. "Larimar. She mighta said she knew you, but don't. Trust. Them." Lari kept shaking. "I...I don't remember-" "DO YOU THINK AH DON'T KNOW WHAT NOT REMBERIN' SHIT IS LIKE!?" "STOP! YELLING!" Amber and Larimar turned to see Heliotrope, looking stressed. "You know what? Fine." Amber said, frustrated. "I'll be back at the ship." She let go of Larimar and stormed off in the direction of the ship. Larimar blinked, feeling Heliotrope hug her. "I-I'm sorry..." Heliotrope shook hr head. "I-It's okay, Lari." She sniffed. She put a hand out, motioning slightly for Peridot's gem. Larimar blinked, before handing it to her. "I j-just...this was getting a bit stressful, so..." Heliotrope said, looking somewhat guilty.

Larimar nodded. "Heli? Go to Amber, I need s-some alone time. Figure out what to do about the poofed gem." Heliotrope nodded, walking off. "O-okay, Lari."

* * *

Amber heard Heliotrope enter. Amber folded her arms and buried her head in them, hearing the sound of assorted junk being displaced, presumably from her putting the Peridot gem onto it. "They're liars, you know." Amber said, scrunching up. "The lot of them." "...look, sorry I yelled, Amber. I just...I get a bit like that when I feel stressed." Heliotrope said, sounding guilty. "I'm sorry too. It's just...before I left, they told me...things. About me. About mom. About who I-" Amber coughed a bit. "Who Ah used to be."

Amber grasped her knees tightly. "As say 'told' like a lick of it was true. It just...don't add up. But sometimes...when Ah'm just sitting alone, I wonder if I ever really cared about her. If she ever really cared about me." Amber heard Heliotrope sit down in front of her. "I don't really know what you've been through...at all. But...I can be here for you." Amber felt Heliotrope put a hand on her arm. She looked up at her, smiling weakly. Eventually, she sighed. "I'm not sure _I_ know what I've been through..." Heliotrope smiled weakly. "Cuddle?" Amber shook her head. "It didn't help last time, it won't help now." She stood up and sat down in a beanbag.

Larimar walked in, still holding the gem's weird limb things. She saw Heliotrope and Amber sitting apart from each other, Amber looking rather grumpy. "I-I'm sorry, Amber..." She said, sheepishly. "The hell're _you_ apologizing for?" Amber asked, shrugging. "Upsetting you?" Amber shook her had. "You had a chance to actually learn somethin' about yer past, and Ah interrupt it 'cause Ah don't wanna face my own. Ah oughta be apologizin' ta you." Larimar smiled. "It's okay. I forgive you." Amber smiled up at Larimar. "I haven't made much of a good first impression, have I? I'm usually much happier than this." Larimar giggled, putting the limb thingies away and hugging Amber, who looked away and blushed. "...I've been thinking." Larimar said, letting go of Amber. "Amber, Heli?" Amber simply looked up at Larimar, while Heli turned and said "Yes?"

Larimar sighed. "I want to go back...to-to where I woke up." Amber shrugged. "You think i'monna stop ya?" Larimar shook her head. "I want you to come." Heliotrope nodded. "Of course." Amber sighed. "I...Yeah. Alright." Larimar smiled. "Not now, though." Heliotrope once again nodded, and hugged Larimar gently. "Guys?" Amber and Heliotrope looked up at Lari again. "Thanks." She said, smiling. The others returned in kind. "Ya know..." Amber said, shifting around a bit. "Mah life ain't been all that great...but I mean it when I say that I think you two're the best thing that's happened to me in a long time."

Larimar and Heliotrope smiled, sitting down in a beanbag, cuddling together. Amber tapped on her gem and sighed. "Ah think Ah need to sleep again." Larimar nodded. "Sleep is always good. I like that hooman custom." Amber smiled, laying back. "G'night, Lari." Larimar smiled. "Good night, Amber."


	3. Episode 3

It's all so much! A very exciting few days!

Larimar entered the ship, sack slung over her shoulder. "I'm ho-" She paused, seeing both Amber and Heliotrope sleeping. Larimar giggled, putting her new, gigantic bag down and stretching. Amber yawned, waking up from her sleep. "Oh. Hey Lari. Yer back." She mumbled drowsily. Larimar noticed Heliotrope beginning to wake up, too. "Yep yep yep!" Larimar said, looking cheerful. Amber nodded. "While you were gone, me and Heli went to a town nearby. She got you an egg what needs psychiatric help." Larimar looked to Heliotrope, who pointed to Larimar's shiny pile, where a crying plush egg lay.

Larimar walked over, picking it up and putting it in her sack. "Shiny~" She said, shoving in a few more odds and ends. She picked up the gem from yesterday, now encased in a hunk of Amber. "Did you-?" Amber nodded. "Didn't want her regenning on us." Amber blinked. "Wait, where are you bringin' those?" Larimar looked back at her, continuing to shove in various random junk. "Oh." Amber said, looking somewhat worried. "Wake up site." Larimar nodded. "Wake up site."

She wasn't sure why Amber was so unhappy about it. But whether she understood it or not, it was still the case. Amber shook her head. "Tahm fer more emotional turmoil, Ah guess." She said, getting up from her beanbag. Heliotrope also stood up. "Shall we go, then?" Larimar nodded. "One second, I still need to stock up."

Larimar picked up a few beanbags and stuffed them in her huge bag. Amber scoffed. "Are you takin' yer whole damn half-a the ship?" Larimar shook her head. "No, I'm wanting to get us something to rest on." Amber made a small noise of agreement. "Fair enough. Off we go, then?" Larimar turned around, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Yep! Off we go!~"

* * *

-A FEW DAYS LATER-

Amber yawned, trudging along, confused as to how in the hell Larimar still had any energy, let alone enough to be going the speed she was. Larimar turned around. "We're almost there. I recognize this place." Amber looked around. At some point they had managed to come to some grassy area, though she wasn't 100% sure how.

Amber stretched, making a sound of...contention mixed with annoyance. That was the only way she could describe it. Something always felt indescribably weird about these kinds of places. She could never put her finger on the feeling, though she had done her best with 'contention mixed with annoyance'.

Her thought process was interrupted by Heliotrope saying "We've been walking for a while." Amber looked at her, annoyed. "Ya don't say." Heliotrope shrugged in response. "THERE! THERE IT IS!" Amber turned, to see Larimar running over to a bunch of wreckage. "YOU CAN STILL RUN?!" Amber asked, annoyed, picking up her pace slightly to get over to Larimar. Heliotrope, however, broke out into a sprint to get over.

Amber eventually caught up, seeing Heliotrope sitting down, and Larimar staring into the wreckage, silent. "And 'at's why Ah didn't run." She said, looking at Heliotrope. Larimar slowly began to rise, now wearing some jet-black crown. Amber inhaled sharply. "Ah, hell. You...alright there, Lari?"

No.

No she was not.

Larimar pulled her crossbow out, aiming at Heliotrope. "GOD _DAMMIT!_ " Amber yelled, pulling her revolver out and shooting at Larimar. Larimar dodged the energy bolts adeptly, showing that psychotic smile Amber knew her with. Amber shook her head. At least she had finally dropped the act. "Hah..." Larimar said, firing off bolts at Amber. "You gems are going to be fun to take down~"

Amber gritted her teeth. "Ya know, I do have to commend you on how well you tricked us, there. I even believed you, for a bit. 'At took some dedication." Larimar wordlessly jumped up, launching spikes of ice at both Amber and Heliotrope. Amber materialized a shield in front of her, made of a translucent gold substance. Why was she dancing around it? It was just amber. "Nice try." She said, firing off more energy bolts at Larimar.

"Once I take you both down, this planet is good as dead!~" Larimar said, laughing crazily. "And once 'ere's a big hole through yer pretty little face, Ah'm putting you in with the Peridot." Amber turned towards Heliotrope, using most of her concentration to keep her shield up. "Hey, remember when Ah asked you about fusing yesterday?" Heliotrope nodded. "Now seems like a good time."

Amber ran over to Heliotrope, blocking more icicles with her shield. She felt Larimar slowly begin to freeze the ground. "Hahah, no." Amber said, materializing an amber shell big enough for an emergency fusion dance. "I'll lead." Heliotrope said, grabbing Amber's hands. Amber nodded. "Good, because Ah've never fused before, and Ah have no idea what the hell Ah'm doin'." Heliotrope blinked, as a few icicles shattered on the amber shell. "...Ignoring that...I...I really hope this brings Lari back to her senses..." She said, starting the dance. Amber sighed. "She is to her senses." Heliotrope started crying, as the two of them started glowing. Heliotrope held back bawling. "NO!"

* * *

Larimar landed, seeing the shell of amber fill with a glow. She cackled. "Playing on my level, eh?" She asked with a glint in her eyes. The amber the fusion was encased in shattered violently, launching shards everywhere, a few lodging themselves inside Larimar. She laughed. A pink-ish yellow form started to compose itself. Larimar grinned psychotically and aimed her crossbow at them. She saw no reason to let that happen.

Even in her half-formed state, the opposing fusion managed to dodge the arrows. She chuckled in a notably amber-y way, before saying "This may be my first fusion, hun, but it ain't my first fight." Her fours eyes opened, and four arms splayed out form her torso.

Larimar scoffed. This thing was supposed to say stable long enough to beat her? One set of eyes was huge, and two of her arms were glowing iridescently. Opposite arms. On the two different sets.

W-wait, what was she doing? "Fusion?" Larimar asked, dropping her crossbow slightly. "You can't fool me by putting on your new voice, hun." The opposing fusion's top arms glowed, while the iridescent arm on the bottom half pulled Amber's revolver from her left hip. The two combined, leaving her with some sort of long, shiny gun. She aimed it at Larimar's head. Larimar blinked, fondling at the crown on her head. "G-GET THIS OFF ME!" She yelled, trying to pull it off to no avail.

* * *

Ammolite fired, a bolt of incendiary energy sailing towards that weird tiara thing on Larimar's head. The bolt went straight through, and the crown fell off Larimar's head. Ammolite lowered her rifle, breathing heavily, as Larimar started to shiver, all four of her eyes closing. "...Thank you." She said, before poofing.

Heliotrope's set of arms caught the two gems, while Amber's dissipated the weapon. _"We really should encase her. We can't be too safe."_ Amber thought, while Ammolite stared at Larimar's gems. Heliotrope mentally shook her head. _"...No...That was our Larimar. That tiara was doing something to her. We got if off. She's fine now."_ Tears began to roll down from Ammolite's top set of eyes. _"l-look..."_ Amber thought, her set of eyes darting a bit. _"I know what she was like. This was her default state. I...don't know what happened before. But I do know that I don't want her to just regen and kill us both."_

The uppermost iridescent arm closed around Larimar's gems-not to crush them, but to protect them. _"No. I can feel what you feel, and I know that even you don't believe that."_

" _I-"_ Amber chuckled. _"I'm way too much of a sap in here. Fine. But if she's still crazy, and we manage to poof her, I'm not hesitating again."_

Ammolite blinked all four eyes, coming back to her own consciousness. "Right. Let's go back." She smiled. "Hopefully, this should be quicker. If not, Amber's gonna be really upset."

" _Wait."_ Amber thought, turning Ammolite. _"One last thing."_ Ammolite's foot hovered above the crown Larimar was wearing. _"Let's just get rid of this before it becomes a problem."_ Ammolite crushed it, before blinking again. "Right. _Now_ we go back."

She picked up Larimar's bag and started walking back towards the ship.

-THREE DAYS LATER-

Ammolite sighed, finally walking back up to the ship. " _Finally!_ " She said, impatiently. She sighed. "Let's get inside, unfuse, and...see what happens. Hopefully Amber was wrong." Ammolite breathed out slowly, as she started to glow. After a while of that, she eventually split into two gems.

* * *

Amber landed on the ground, relatively gracefully. Heliotrope landed in front of her, holding Larimar's gems. Amber blinked a bit. "One moment." She walked into the ship, and landed face first onto a beanbag.

-TWO DAYS LATER-

Amber looked forlornly at Larimar's poofed gems. "She...has to get back soon. Right?" She turned back towards Heliotrope, who shrugged. Amber's eyes widened as she heard the telltale sound of a regen, and saw a faint glow out of the corner of her eye. "Huh. Timing." She said, standing up. The gems started glowing brighter, and two silhouettes began to form. "Pleeeeeeease let it have been real..." Amber muttered pleadingly.

Eventually, the two gems landed, One white and about the size of a pearl, while the other was blue, and slightly taller. Heliotrope ran up and hugged the both of them. "Hi, Heli." The white one said. The other just smiled. Heliotrope let ought a sigh of relief, which Amber mirrored. "Hi." She said, smiling at the two gems in front of her. Heliotrope broke from the hug and looked at the two other gems. "It's really nice to see you, uh...I...don't actually know your names." The white one smiled. "I'm moonstone, and this-" She hugged the smaller, blue one closer. "Is Sodalite." She sounded rather proud of herself, Amber noted. Heliotrope smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you Moonstone and Sodalite." Amber sat back down, flipping her ponytail in front of her and wringing it a bit. "Yeah...yeah." She flipped it back. "It's nice to see that 'lost memory' thing wasn't an act. Ah kinda liked the two of you. One of you. Three of you?" She shrugged. "Fusion is weird-ass."

Moonstone hugged Sodalite tightly. "We're...free here, right?" Heliotrope blinked. "Yeah, we destroyed that...crown thingie." Amber nodded. "Yer certainly not getting' brainwashed again, 'less that Peridot's got somethin' up her sleeve." Sodalite hugged Moonstone tighter. "Moonie, it is safe, this isn't Homeworld. This is Errth." She smiled. "Shall we fuse, my delightful?" Amber tried her very hardest not to roll her eyes, as Moonstone nodded and began the fusion with Sodalite.

Amber looked away, feeling somewhat embarrassed, until she heard Larimar say "It feels so good to be whole again." Amber turned back, seeing Larimar standing there, now having white strips interspered in her skin and hair. "Must..." Amber muttered. "Where's the crown?" Larimar sked, sounding worried. Amber smiled. "Crushed in the forest. We made sure 'a that." Larimar sighed in relief. "Good." She walked over, hugging both Heliotrope and Amber. "Thank you both." Amber squirmed a bit. "Uh, y-yeah." Heliotrope, however, returned it. "You're welcome, Lari..." She said, her voice trembling slightly. Pause. "I...remember now." Tears began to glow from all 4 eyes, the white-ish ones moreso. Her hands held her gems, as she looked rather pained.

"That...wasn't yer fault, ya know." "No!" Amber jumped slightly. "A-all those...Everything I've done...All...those other planets...people..." Amber scoffed. "All _you've_ done? You weren't exactly there at the times." Larimar just continued shaking and holding her head. "s-so much blood..."

Amber sighed. "Ah'm not a good negotiator." She said, sadly. Larimar continued on, unabated."J-just because we love each other. Th-they punished us." Amber sighed. "Homeowrld's a bad place filled with bad people. I got lucky they didn't insert me with a self-destruct function or something." Amber looked up, seeing Heliotrope nodding with her. "But that ain't you anymore. Ah'd argue it never was. Don't geel like you gotta atone fer actions you could barely be called responsible for."

Larimar's head looked up, and Sodalite's eyes narrowed. "Homeworld is full of loveless clods." She said, wiping away tears. Amber smirked. "Ah'd say 'amen', but you wouldn't get it."

Amber started squirming a bit more. "Uh, c-could you-" Larimar let Amber go, putting her free arm around Heliotrope. "Th-thanks."

Awkward pause.

"S-so, you still want me to stay? After all I did?" Amber sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was about to go into another tirade, but she decided that a "Yes." Would suffice. Heliotrope nodded. "Of course you can stay." Larimar smiled, hugging Heli tighter. "Thank you. For being so kind."

Amber nodded. "Sorry 'bout killin' you that one time. And thinkin' you were fakin' the memory loss thing. Sorry fer lots of stuff." Larimar smiled at her. "I'm sure you had reason to doubt." Amber nodded. "Lots. Glad to have ya back, Lari."


End file.
